Freedom by Jonathan Franzen: First Paragraph, Teaser Tuesday

"The news about Walter Berglund wasn't picked up locally -- he and Patty had moved away to Washington two years earlier and meant nothing to St. Paul now -- but the urban gentry of Ramsey Hill were not so loyal to their city as not to read the New York Times."

This is the beginning of Freedom, Johnathan Franzen's highly praised novel about the American family. Published in 2010 the book was an Oprah Book Club recommendation and Scott Rudin snatched it up almost instantaneously for adaptation. Where it now sits on a shelf next to Rudin's copy of The Corrections, the other Franzen novel Rudin owns the rights to. There was going to be an adaptation of The Corrections for HBO with Ewan McGregor all set to star but that's been cancelled for now. I can only hope there is actually a screenwriter somewhere with his own copy of Franzen's 562 page book, writing and re-writing away to whittle the book into a 120 page screenplay!  But how?? Regardless, I've met Walter and Patty, the young and the not-so young versions, and would love to see them onscreen. Wouldn't you?

On Tuesdays, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph of her current read. Over at Should Be Reading MizB posts a random tease for Tuesday Teasers. Mine comes from Freedom as well.

"Neighbors who were closer to the Berglunds than the Paulsens reported that Miss Bianca had left her little mouse house, on a minor lake near Grand Rapids, exclusively to Walter and not to his two brothers."